Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I had a great opening written where I channeled the ghost of Keith Jackson, then I realized a) there's no way the greatness of his voice inflection would come across properly on the internet, and b) he's still alive. (Really, I get a giggle just thinking about him saying "LenDale White" or "Roll Tide". Wait, back to the subject.) So let's just get down to it all. Early on the Pens looked great. However, it turns out they are who we thought they were- mediocre. I think " good bad team" is a perfect description- they can beat the crappy teams, are will do okay against other average teams, but the elite teams kill them. This is a game the Pens can win. Crosby is back tonight, so hopefully that sparks the offense, which could be charitably described as "moribund". A look at the standings:

I've often heard it referred to but honestly don't know what Therrien's system is.Anyone want to take a shot at describing it.\?I'm not referring to "the chaos theory " of shuffling lines ad infitum or jokes about shocking goalies by putting the wrong guys out in shootouts.

yeltzen wrote:All you need to do is watch a few breakouts from early last year. Then, you'll have a new appreciation for Therrien.

I'm not unaprectiative in the least.I meant it as a serious question but figured I'd get a lot of jokes.I'v never heard some concrete description og what MT's system is.I wondered if someone could give some details.

Geezer wrote:I've often heard it referred to but honestly don't know what Therrien's system is.Anyone want to take a shot at describing it.\?I'm not referring to "the chaos theory " of shuffling lines ad infitum or jokes about shocking goalies by putting the wrong guys out in shootouts.

Systems change with the score, which is why it would appear that teams don't have a steady system.

When the score is tied (even momentum) you can expect to see alot of safe, smart passes and dump-ins. Therrian likes to get a hard working forecheck established. Bang some bodies, get the legs pumping. Quick line changes, a steady diet of trap and attack when teams make a mistake. It's a system that relies heavily on patience and pouncing on mistakes--imagine a coiled snake waiting for it's prey to wonder into it's strike range--unaware of the impending doom.

If the Penguins are in the lead or if they are dominating you can expect allittle more recklessness and focus on the trap. Teams usually counter that with sustained forechecking that exposes the lack of toughness and experiance on our blueline. They usually get into penalty trouble when this happens. Thsi is not by design however, , what Therrian wants to see is the centers BACK and HITTING but they never do enough of it. Sid and Zhenia want more goals to satisfy them and defenseive responsibility is rarely on the menu when the team has the lead. That will change in time.

When the Pens are trailing they will try to force the puck on the rush out of their own end as much as possible, only dumping when it's a checking line.

Geezer wrote:I've often heard it referred to but honestly don't know what Therrien's system is.Anyone want to take a shot at describing it.\?I'm not referring to "the chaos theory " of shuffling lines ad infitum or jokes about shocking goalies by putting the wrong guys out in shootouts.

Systems change with the score, which is why it would appear that teams don't have a steady system.

When the score is tied (even momentum) you can expect to see alot of safe, smart passes and dump-ins. Therrian likes to get a hard working forecheck established. Bang some bodies, get the legs pumping. Quick line changes, a steady diet of trap and attack when teams make a mistake. It's a system that relies heavily on patience and pouncing on mistakes--imagine a coiled snake waiting for it's prey to wonder into it's strike range--unaware of the impending doom.

If the Penguins are in the lead or if they are dominating you can expect allittle more recklessness and focus on the trap. Teams usually counter that with sustained forechecking that exposes the lack of toughness and experiance on our blueline. They usually get into penalty trouble when this happens. Thsi is not by design however, , what Therrian wants to see is the centers BACK and HITTING but they never do enough of it. Sid and Zhenia want more goals to satisfy them and defenseive responsibility is rarely on the menu when the team has the lead. That will change in time.

When the Pens are trailing they will try to force the puck on the rush out of their own end as much as possible, only dumping when it's a checking line.